Conflicted
by mockingjayfelicis
Summary: Prompt. AU. Dr Odair is in love with one of his patients, and is torn between what he wants and what is right. Warning: Theme of domestic abuse (not between Finnick and Annie).
1. Chapter 1

**Prompt: AU where Finnick is a therapist and Annie is his patient, and they fall in love.**

Finnick scrunched up a useless memo he had received that morning, reminding everyone that pre-opened bottles and cans were not to be left in the staff room fridge due to health and safety guidelines, and threw it in the bin, while making a mental note to retrieve his half-empty bottle of cola from the fridge at lunchtime. He checked his inbox – no new emails apart from the fourth one from Dr Maria Thomson that week (it was only Wednesday) inviting him out to dinner on Friday night after they had both finished work. Screwing up his face as though there was an unpleasant smell in the room, he swiftly clicked 'delete'. He couldn't deny that Dr Thomson was a nice woman, and perhaps he'd consider going out for dinner with her, if only she wasn't so desperate, and he didn't already have feelings for someone else.

He opened his diary to see when his next appointment was. He'd had a fairly quiet morning, with only an hour's session with old Mrs Crotchet as soon as he'd arrived at work. The authorities had heard word that she was keeping thirty three cats hauled up all day and night in her little cottage, and they had informed animal protective services who had been round to collect the cats and take them to a shelter a fortnight ago. Old Mrs Crotchet was devastated. She kept referring to the cats as her babies, and often cried to Finnick that she didn't know what she'd do now that they had been taken away from her. While feeling some degree of sympathy towards the lonely old woman, Finnick couldn't wait to see the back of her.

His next session was due to start in five minutes. It was with Annie Cresta, a girl only a couple of years younger than him, who had recently witnessed a brutal stabbing and was suffering from a severe case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Finnick's heartbeat quickened. This always happened before a session with Annie. Whether it was the image of the horrific attack she had seen that caused the tightening in his chest, or the fact that he could no longer pretend to himself that he didn't feel something he shouldn't for Annie, he couldn't tell. Perhaps it was a bit of both. The phone on his desk started ringing. He cleared his throat and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Dr Odair, your 11 o'clock appointment is here."

"Send her in, Kate."

"Yes, sir."

He hung up the phone and exhaled sharply. He retrieved Annie's file that was significantly thicker than any of the others in his cabinet, picked up a pen and made his way over to the two plush black leather armchairs by the glistening floor-to-ceiling windows. Separating the armchairs was a small mahogany coffee table, and on the coffee table lay a small potted plant and a box of tissues. There was a knock on the office door.

"Come in." Finnick called.

The door slowly opened and Annie entered the room hesitantly with a shy expression on her pale face.

"Come in, Annie." Finnick smiled, beckoning her over to the armchair opposite him.

Annie made her way across the room. Her long red hair cascaded down in beautiful curls to her waist. She was wearing a sea green dress and dainty flat shoes the same colour of green. Finnick began to feel very warm under his suit jacket. He had to loosen his tie to allow the cool air into his lungs. Annie sat down on the chair across from Finnick. Finnick leaned over to shake her hand. He cursed himself inside his head and gritted his teeth after realising that his palm was sweaty. Annie didn't react, though. Such a lovely girl, he thought.

"Nice to see you again, Annie."

"You too, Dr Odair."

"How have you been feeling since our last session?"

Finnick positioned the pen in his hand, ready to take notes on what Annie was saying.

"Okay, I guess..." Annie started off in a weak, quiet voice while playing with her hands. "My family are very overbearing. They want to make sure I'm okay and they keep asking me if I want to go out and do something and they're always pestering me to eat and reminding me that it's fine to feel upset. But... I just want them to leave me alone."

Finnick scribbled down what Annie had just said in shorthand.

"What about your friends?" he asked.

"They don't really know how to act around me. I've hardly heard from any of them since... since it happened. My family care too much and my friends don't care enough."

"Do you have a partner?"

"No."

Finnick's heartbeat quickened again. He paused his note-taking.

"What?" said Annie.

Finnick struggled to find the right words. "Nothing," he smiled eventually. "I just find it difficult to believe that a pretty girl like you doesn't have a boyfriend."

As soon as he said it, he regretted it. _What the fuck are you thinking? She's your patient and she trusts you. _

"I'm sorry, I..." he began. "That was totally inappropriate of me, I..."

But Annie just giggled. "It's okay, Dr Odair. I appreciate the compliment."

Finnick blushed. "Please accept my sincerest apologies, Annie, that was extremely unprofessional. It won't happen again."

"Okay." Annie smiled.

Finnick took a deep breath and focused his attention back on Annie's notes.

"So, uh... these nightmares you told me about? Do you still have them?"

The light disappeared from Annie's shiny emerald eyes within a second. Her smile faded. Her shoulders hunched.

"Yeah..." she almost whispered.

"Are they as bad as before?" Finnick proceeded with a soft tone of voice, sensing that this was a difficult topic for Annie.

She nodded and gulped. She looked away from Finnick and out of the vast windows to the city below.

"I see it... I see the little boy being stabbed..." Annie's eyes began to water as Finnick took more notes. "I try to scream but no sound comes out... I try to run but it's like my legs are glued to the ground... I try to help him..." Tears escaped from Annie's eyes and ran down her cheeks. She lifted her right hand and placed it on her left forearm. Finnick squinted his eyebrows as he tried to figure out what she was doing. Suddenly, Annie ran her fingernails down her forearm, leaving four great red lines imprinted on her porcelain skin. "I try to help him but I can't! I can't! I can't! I can't!" She repeated the scratching motion every time the words "I cant" came out of her mouth.

"Annie!" Finnick threw his notes onto the floor and jumped off his seat. In less than a second he was kneeling in front of Annie, grabbing her right hand in his right hand, and her left hand in his left hand. His expression was panicked. Annie cried even harder when she looked into his eyes.

"It's okay, Annie, you're here with me," he soothed. He gently placed Annie's hands on her lap, reached behind him for a tissue and handed it to her. She took it and started dabbing the tears from her face. Finnick slowly stood up and placed his hand on her shoulder.

He panted, and reminded himself that it was okay to touch his patients if they posed a threat to themselves.

"Would you like some water?" he asked Annie, strongly fighting the urge not to place his hand on her head and stroke her hair.

"Yes please," she said in a small voice.

Finnick filled up a plastic cup from the water cooler in the corner of his office, and placed it down on the coffee table in front of Annie.

"There you go," he whispered.

"Thanks," Annie whispered back.

Finnick returned to his seat. "We don't have to carry on right away, Annie. You can take a minute."

Annie nodded and began to drink the water.

Finnick closed his eyes. He had touched one of his patients. _He had touched her._ He wasn't supposed to do that. _But she was hurting herself._ There were set boundaries between doctor and patient, and he had crossed them. _She didn't mind, though._

He felt so conflicted. He had only just graduated – this was his first job as a therapist, and it had taken him ages to get it. He didn't want to ruin his chance by breaking one of the most important rules of medicine. But Annie did something to him, something that he couldn't explain. It was a feeling he had never experienced before.

At first he simply thought she was beautiful. But throughout their sessions together, as Finnick learned more and more about Annie, her life, her past, he realised that the attraction wasn't just physical. But he also knew that it could never be. Finnick was in a position of trust, and if he abused that trust, not only could he end up fired from his dream job, he could end up in prison, and would never be able to work in the medical field again. He looked at the vulnerable girl with the tear-stained face in front of him, and was hit with a fresh wave of adrenaline. _Maybe she's worth it._

"I'm sorry, Dr Odair," Annie sniffed. "I never meant for any of that to happen," she shook her head. "God, I'm so embarrassed. What must you think of me?"

Finnick leaned forward. He smiled warmly, and spoke in a deep, calming voice. "Call me Finnick," he said. "And I think you're amazing."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I've had a request to turn Conflicted into a multi-chapter fic, so here is Chapter Two! I know it's been ages since it was originally posted, and I'm so sorry for the late update, but I've just been too busy recently and I write my prompts / requests in the order that I receive them, so this was quite far back in the queue. I hope you like it, and please leave a review! I love hearing feedback on how I can make my writing better.**

Finnick carried on with his working week as normal, helping all his clients to deal with their bereavements, their divorces, and their stress. He continued to delete emails from Dr Thomson inviting him out ("If you don't fancy dinner, how about a musical?") and was careful to avoid making eye contact with her when he left his office.

No matter how much he tried to deny it to himself, he was desperate for next Wednesday to come around so that he could see Annie again. What happened during their last session had left a mental imprint on him. It wasn't something that he could just shake off or forget about. He thought about Annie on his way to work, on his way home from work – she even entered his dreams a couple of times. Finnick kept this to himself, of course – he knew that if anyone found out about what had happened, he'd be carted off to jail in the back of a police car. But even that wasn't enough to take his mind off the beautiful girl.

Eventually, Wednesday arrived, and Finnick sat in his office, preparing himself, as eleven o'clock drew nearer. He straightened his collar, sprayed some aftershave, and popped a mint into his mouth, even though he hadn't eaten anything since he brushed his teeth earlier that morning. He received the telephone call from Kate the receptionist to let him know that Annie was here. He fished out Annie's file from his cabinet, picked up a pen from his desk, and settled himself in one of the leather armchairs by the large windows like he had done last week. There was a knock at the door, and he called for Annie to come in.

"Hello, Annie," he smiled warmly.

"Hello, Dr Odair," Annie returned his smile.

This week, she was wearing tight blue jeans that flattered the curves of her hips, a white vest top patterned with little frills, and her red hair was straight, making it look even longer than it had before.

"I told you, call me Finnick," Finnick said in a friendly tone as Annie cautiously crossed the room.

"Okay... Finnick," Annie replied bashfully, taking a seat in the free leather armchair.

Finnick poised his pen ready to start taking notes. He started with the usual question that he asked all his clients.

"How have you been feeling since our last session?"

"Better," said Annie in a small voice, accompanied by a small smile.

"I'm very glad to hear that," said Finnick. "Better in what way?"

"I don't know, really. I'm smiling a lot more. And finding it easier to fall asleep."

Finnick beamed as he jotted down this information.

"That's great news about the sleeping. What about after you fall asleep? Any improvements with the nightmares?"

Annie looked down.

"No," she mumbled. "No, not with the nightmares."

Finnick's stomach fluttered. Seeing Annie in such a vulnerable state changed something inside him. It wasn't a disgusting or perverted feeling – he didn't want to abuse her vulnerability. He wanted to protect her. He wanted to be there for her when she woke up in the middle of the night screaming. He wanted to hold her against his chest as she sobbed and reassure her that it was just a dream and everything was okay. He wanted to be the one she counted on most.

"What about the flashbacks?"

"I have them two or three times a month. Right after the incident I used to have them almost every day. So I guess they're getting better."

But her voice wasn't exactly teeming with confidence. Finnick wrote as Annie went on.

"My boyfriend... well, ex-boyfriend now, he... he left me because of this. He was supportive at first. He drove me to therapy and helped me with all my self-help assignments. He gave me lots of affection. We were always cuddling, always talking... he promised me that he'd stand by me. That he'd make sure I got better. And I believed him. But it all started to get too much for him."

Annie paused and took a deep breath.

"He'd sleep in and be late for work because he'd been up half the night trying to calm me down after a nightmare. He'd have to cancel arrangements with his friends if I had a flashback right before he was due to meet them. It got so bad that he couldn't even leave me on my own anymore. There were times when I'd go silent for days and he wouldn't be able to get a word out of me. I could hear him speaking to me, begging me to talk to him, and I wanted to, I really wanted to, but I just couldn't. It was like my brain had just decided to shut my body down. I couldn't move, I couldn't function. In the end he'd get so frustrated that he'd end up hitting..."

Annie's speech came to an end. Finnick leaned forward, a concerned expression on his face.

"Hitting what, Annie?"

Annie's eyes darted around the room so she didn't have to look at Finnick. They were shiny with tears by this point. She began wringing her hands out, trying to think of something to say.

"Uh... the table... he'd end up hitting the table..." she mumbled to the building across the road.

"Annie. Look at me," Finnick's voice was low and serious.

Annie's gaze slowly turned towards Finnick. She was trembling and trying ever so hard to stop the tears from escaping her eyes.

"Did he hit _you_?"

Annie said nothing but burst into a hysterical fit of tears, which gave Finnick all the closure that he needed.

"Oh God..." he whispered to himself, placing his notes and pen down on the table in front of him.

He brought his hands up to his face. He could feel tears of his own stinging his eyes but he was determined to remain calm. He knew what he had to do. He had to report this to the authorities. It was protocol – everything said in a therapist's office remains confidential, apart from matters in which a person's health or safety is at risk.

"Annie..." Finnick started. "Annie, I'm very glad you trusted me enough to tell me this."

Annie looked at him with wide, fearful eyes.

"I'm going to have to inform the police about this, Annie," he said in a quiet, sympathetic voice.

"NO!" Annie screamed, bringing her legs up onto the chair and hugging her knees. She started gently swaying back and forth as she cried. "No, please don't!"

Seeing Annie so distressed caused a single tear to run down Finnick's cheek. He wiped it away.

"I'm sorry, Annie," he said. "But I have to. It's part of my job to make sure my patients are safe."

"I am safe!" Annie insisted, nodding furiously as a fresh load of sobs erupted from her. "He lives miles away, and he's never even contacted me since he left, not once! _Please_, Dr Odair – Finnick – please don't call the police!"

"Oh, Annie..."

Finnick slowly began to rise from his chair. He deliberated comforting Annie who was now crying so loudly that he was sure she could be heard from next door. The awful feeling of being torn returned to him – should he or shouldn't he? Was this right or wrong?

"Please, Dr Odair, I don't want the police getting involved! Please, I'll do anything, I swear! Anything you ask, I'll do it!"

That settled it. Finnick took a seat next to Annie since the chairs were big enough to comfortably fit two people. He gently tucked a few strands of Annie's hair behind her ear and cupped her cheek.

"Annie, listen to me," he spoke in a soft, reassuring way. Their tearful eyes met. "I don't want you to do anything for me. Trust me, I don't. I just want you to be safe."

Annie sniffed and her trembling slowed. Finnick closed his eyes and sighed. He couldn't believe what he was about to say.

"If you don't want me to call the police, then... I won't."

Annie's face lit up in delight.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!"

"But I'm going to give you my cell phone number. And if that... if your... ex-boyfriend ever comes looking for you, I want you to call me. Immediately."

Annie nodded. "I promise, I will."

Finnick hesitantly slipped his arm around Annie's shoulders. He was preparing himself for her to move away in disgust. But she didn't. Instead, she relaxed into his hold and rested her head in the crook of his neck.

"Thank you, Dr Odair," she whispered.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thank you for the reviews! odestalovebaby and X The mad girl back home X are my babes.**

Finnick couldn't sleep that night, alone in his apartment. He tossed and turned, getting all hot and bothered in the twisted sheets, a burdening feeling of guilt squeezing down on his chest and a million thoughts whizzing through his head all at once. What had he done?

When he closed his eyes, all he could see were horrible images of Annie being beaten up by a strong, powerful, faceless man. He tried everything to make them go away – he watched a late night talk show on TV, fixed himself a midnight snack, and read the next few chapters of his book. But nothing worked. He couldn't escape the fact that he had now broken three rules at work – he had touched a patient, refused to report an urgent matter to the authorities, and given out his personal phone number. Breaking just one of these rules was enough to get him both fired and arrested.

He jumped every time a car drove by outside, thinking it was a police car. At any moment he thought there would be a knock at the door, and when he opened it there'd be an officer standing there with handcuffs, ready to take him away and lock him up and take his license off him for good, leaving him jobless and barely re-employable. And what about Annie? What if that psychotic ex of hers hurt her again, and put her in hospital, or worse, in a grave? It would be all his fault. He could have stopped it, and he chose not to. Why? Because he wanted Annie to like him, that's why. He was willing to risk a woman's safety so that she'd like him. The thought made him feel sick.

Finnick sat up in bed and wiped his sweaty brow. _I can't do this_, he thought to himself as he unstuck his t-shirt from his body. _First thing tomorrow I'm going to call the police and tell them about what Annie's ex did to her._ The decision made him feel a bit more comfortable, but then he realised – he couldn't do that. It was too late. If he went to the police about Annie's ex hitting her, they'd ask him why he didn't report it as soon as she told him. They'd immediately suspect that he'd been keeping it a secret as per Annie's wishes, and that would be his career finished for good.

He sighed and flopped back down onto the mattress. What a mess he was in, and he had no one to blame but himself.

XxXxX

Another week passed, and Finnick spent every spare minute of his time trying to come up with a solution. He didn't go into the staffroom at all now – he was worried incase he accidentally let something slip, and he didn't feel like socialising with his friends after work. He had dark circles under his eyes due to a significant lack of sleep, and he was more or less running on the energy given to him from coffee. He decided that enough was enough.

"Annie, I'm sorry. I've done something very wrong," he told her during their next session together.

Annie lowered her head.

"I know," she said quietly. "But... it doesn't feel wrong."

Finnick simply looked at her.

"I know you should have called the police," she went on. "And I also know that you weren't allowed to give me your number, or touch me. I don't mind that you did, but... why? Why did you do it?"

There was silence for a few seconds before Finnick said, "I got... carried away. It was stupid and irresponsible of me. And I'm very sorry."

"Don't be," she almost whispered. "I liked it."

Finnick gulped. He could feel his heart racing, his skin getting warmer. This was wrong. God, this was so wrong. The sensations that Annie gave him with just a few whispered words were enough to render him speechless.

"I know you're worried about your job. You must have worked very hard to get where you are today."

Finnick gave a couple of stiff nods as he began crushing the pen in his fist.

"I'm being selfish," said Annie.

This snapped Finnick out of his paralysed state.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm being selfish. You could be arrested because of me."

"No, Annie, it's not like that..."

"It is," Annie interrupted. "If anyone finds out about what happened, you'll never be able to work as a therapist ever again. After you get released from prison, that is."

Now it was Finnick's turn to lower his head.

"But the only people who know about it are you and me," he mumbled. "And you're not going to tell anyone, and... and I'm not going to tell anyone."

It'd slipped out before he'd even realised what he was saying. He closed his eyes and cursed himself inside. That was it. His plan to tell the police everything had gone up in smoke.

"It's not fair to you," said Annie.

Finnick was confused. He couldn't see a way out of this.

"So... what are you going to do?" he asked warily.

Annie took a deep breath.

"I'm going to find a new therapist."

Finnick snapped his head up in shock.

"What? No! No, you can't do that!"

"I have to. I don't want this weighing you down. Like I said, it isn't fair."

Finnick felt like he had been kicked in the stomach. Annie couldn't leave. He'd probably never see her again! He became panicked and tearful at the realisation. He shook his head desperately and leaned forward.

"Annie, please don't do this. You said yourself that it didn't feel wrong. That... that we didn't feel wrong."

"I'm sorry, Finnick."

Annie stood up and made her way over to the door. Finnick shot up out of his seat and hurtled after her. By the time he had reached Annie, she had already opened the door about an inch or two. Finnick slammed it shut, blocking her exit. The pain in his eyes was visible as Annie looked into them.

"Please don't go," he breathed, bringing his hand up to Annie's waist.

Annie didn't say anything. She just slowly closed the small gap between the two of them. They both hesitated for a few moments, as though they were silently asking each other for permission. Then, their faces leaned in closer and their lips met for the first time. Annie's were soft and gentle, Finnick's rough and coarse because he had been biting them so much recently. He didn't know what he was going to do about the police. All he knew was that he wasn't about to let Annie go that easily.


End file.
